It is a continuing goal to reduce the cost and weight of aircraft, spacecraft, and many other devices that include one or more electrical functions. Aircraft, for example, typically include thousands of feet of copper or aluminum wire embedded in an insulator. This wire requires a great deal of time for both manufacturing and installation, and contributes a great deal to the weight of the aircraft. Added weight results in a corresponding increase in fuel consumption and/or a decrease in payload capacity.
In most existing applications, electrical power, current, and electrical signals are typically conducted through wires or cables using copper or aluminum as the conductive medium. In these applications, the amount of power, current, and signal strength are inherently limited by the electrical resistivity of the conducting materials, such as copper and aluminum, used to implement the electrical path. In addition, since copper and aluminum conductors include a resistance, current flowing through such conductors causes the wire to generate heat. A conductor with a lower resistance per unit area will tend to reduce the amount of heat generated (and electrical energy lost due to such generated heat) within a system.
Accordingly, there is a need for an electrical conductor for use in aircraft which overcomes the drawbacks of conventional copper and aluminum conductors.